App downloads are exploding: Cumulative app downloads have surpassed 60 billion. That means that total app downloads in 2013 alone have been 20 billion, according to our estimates. That's a huge number. To put it into perspective, it's equal to about half of all downloads that have taken place since the inception of Apple's app store in July 2008.

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Revenue is surging too: Apple has paid out over $13 billion to app developers to date, Tim Cook said. Since Apple pays out 70% to developers and keeps 30% of revenue, that equates to roughly $18.5 billion in total cumulative app store revenue. In mid-June, our analysis showed that Apple's app store generated roughly the same amount of total revenue year-to-date in 2013 as it did in all of 2012, with about $4.3 billion in new revenue. Well, Apple App Store has now managed to match that revenue total in the four and a half months since. Not to mention, there's a holiday season on the horizon.

It's unclear what's causing the acceleration in downloads and revenue, but it could be tied to the success of Apple's strategy of selling high-end devices that encourage heavy usage, the increased penetration of iPads, and faster 4G LTE networks in many markets, which allow users to download apps on the go.